1. Field of Art
The present disclosure relates to a handheld connected device and a method of preventing inadvertent data synchronization to and from removable memory sources on a handheld connected device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of removable storage media or memory sources on mobile devices is becoming increasingly widespread. Such memory sources include universal serial bus (USB) flash drives (such as Jump drives, Pocket drives, Pen drives, and Thumb drives), Memory Stick (MS) cards, optical disks, external hard drives, Secure Digital (SD) cards (including miniSD and microSD formats), SDIO, CompactFlash (CF) cards, XD cards, PC cards (PCMCIA), and MultiMediaCards (MMCs), among others.
As an example, the SD card format is a very popular flash (non-volatile) memory card format currently in use in various portable devices such as digital cameras, handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), global positioning system (GPS) units, data organizers, handheld connected devices, and smart phones, among others. The SD card offers a convenient way to add additional memory and storage capability to a mobile device such as a smart phone. Photos stored on a SD card from a digital camera can readily be transferred to a mobile device equipped with a SD card expansion slot. Similarly, videos, movies, games, or other application and data files may also be easily transferred to a mobile device from a SD card. Additionally, irrespective of the ownership of the SD card and files contained within, files stored on any SD card may also be transferred to the local internal storage of a user's mobile device. Data from a removable memory source connected to a user's mobile device may also be transferred to another mobile device, a server based storage, or computer connected to the user's mobile device or over a mobile network or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).
Such data transfers may occur through data synchronization technologies that enable automatic copying of data changes between the connected devices so that the data between the devices are in sync. Data synchronization may be either local, wherein the second device is sufficiently proximal to allow a Bluetooth, infrared, or cable connection, or remote, wherein the synchronization occurs over a mobile network or WLAN.
Such flexibility and ease of data transfer from any removable memory source to and from a mobile device comes with several caveats. Firstly, with mobile malware and the use of removable memory sources on the rise, coupled with the fact that most users of removable memory sources have no security policy in place for the contents of their removable memory source, there is a significant security risk associated with such data transfers. Secondly, such removable memory media often contain sensitive, proprietary, personal, or copyrighted information intended only for a limited audience. Hence the entire contents of a removable memory source may not be appropriate for transfer to a mobile device of an arbitrary user of the memory source.
Digital rights management (DRM) technologies are often used to implement access control to memory sources, curtail unrestricted usage of copyrighted data on such memory sources, and to prevent unauthorized copying of data, thereby managing the intellectual property ownership of digital content. However, drawbacks of DRM systems include higher incurred costs (purchase, implementation, and maintenance costs), possibility of malfunction (compatibility or scalability issues in terms of users, digital content, or devices), and often rigid and inflexible control (may not satisfactorily handle multiple file formats and codecs, content associated with multiple applications, or multiple distribution methods for digital content).
Data transfers during a synchronization operation are typically performed in a batch mode, whereby data are either transferred at an arbitrary time upon user instruction or automatically transferred at a designated time established by the user. In a batch transfer mode, digital content on a removable memory source gets transferred to the mobile device only if it happens to be connected to the device at the time of the batch transfer. DRM systems for batch transfers of data from removable memory sources to mobile devices are easier to regulate and hence offer relatively less expensive DRM solutions because a batch mode affords the user better control over what needs to be backed up. To allow such data transfers in real time in a safe manner, the user has to implement expensive DRM solutions which are prohibitive.
It will be appreciated that there are other handheld devices that synchronize data with other removable memory sources, many of which have additional shortcomings in addition to those discussed above.